The Best of 2008 Winners in the Saxophone, Trombone, and Trumpet categories include some younger players - a great indication of the vibrancy of today’s scene. Since I haven’t covered them outside of the context of album reviews, I’ve included some biographical information here.

———-

Best Latin Jazz Sax Player of 2008 - Pablo Gil

Venezuelan saxophonist Pablo Gil caused a stir in the Latin Jazz community this year with an outstanding performance on guitarist Aquiles Baez’s Cacao Musica release La Patilla. Gil draws upon years of experience in a variety of musical settings and cultural backgrounds, that range from an early training in Venezuela to a conservatory education in France. These early experiences armed Gil with a thorough understanding of traditional Venezuelan music and classical forms, but he sought to complete the picture with a jazz education. Gil found a true immersion in jazz when he pursued his Master Degree at the University of New York, leading him to a successful career in the city’s jazz scene. Gil performed with some of the city’s top Latin and jazz artists and recorded on Juan Pablo Torres’ Together Again and Alfredo Naranjo’s Y El Guajeo. He released two albums as a leader, the 2002 recording Major Delights and the 2004 release Simbolos, and he collaborated with Venezuelan artists Gerry Weil and Nene Quintero on the album Empatia. His performance on La Patilla displays a wide spectrum of musical shadings - at one moment he can play with impassioned energy and then make a quick turn to a quiet whisper. It’s a vivid show of artistry that jumped out of the album and introduced Gil’s wonderful work to LJC readers in 2008!

Best Latin Jazz Trombone Player of 2008 - Ryan Keberle

Still on the younger side of his career, trombonist Ryan Keberle has made a wide impact on the Latin Jazz world, playing with a number of artists from various pieces of the Latin Jazz world. A 2001 graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and a 2003 graduate from the Julliard School of Music, Keberle jumped into New York’s professional jazz world with a solid training under his belt. He has performed with some of the jazz world’s top musicians including Joe Lovano, Slide Hampton, Frank Wess, and Jimmy Heath; he currently holds a trombone chair in the outstanding Maria Schneider Orchestra. Keberle’s contribution to the Latin Jazz world has stepped outside the traditional Cuban and Brazilian influences and spent a good deal of time contributing to Argentinean projects from bassist Pedro Giraudo and Fernando Otero. In 2007, Keberle moved into role of bandleader with his release The Ryan Keberle Double Quartet, featuring a combination of both original songs and jazz covers. It was his work with The Paul Carlon Octet that captured the attention of LJC readers in 2008, with some outstanding solo work on the release Roots Propaganda. A young musician with a great deal to say, we can expect more from Keberle as a leader and a sideman contributing to both the straight ahead and Latin Jazz worlds.

Best Latin Jazz Trumpet Player of 2008 - Francisco “Pacho” Flores

Venezuelan musician Francisco Flores has become a strong voice in the trumpet world, even at the young age of 27. His father was a professional trumpet player that gave his son lessons from the age of 8; this early exposure to music pushed the young Flores into further studies with Eduardo Manzanilla at the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Musicales. He continued his classical music studies at a conservatory in France before bringing his now world-class skills back to Venezuela. He became a founding member of the Simón Bolívar Brass Quintet, touring throughout South America, the United States, and Europe. Flores has become known in Venezuela as a major soloist, fronting concert bands and symphony orchestras. Flores has spent most of his career focused upon the classical music world, so his commanding win in this category was a bit of a surprise - but listening to his outstanding performance on Marco Granados’ Music of Venezuela, the overwhelming amount of votes make perfect sense!

———-
Check back tomorrow for the Best Bass Player, Piano Player, and Percussionist of the Year!

———-
Click here to have these posts delivered via email. Or, click here to subscribe to the full text RSS feed and never miss another post!

Stumble it!